Former Georgetown two-sport star Ryan Browner chosen as the school’s new athletic director

By Dom NicastroCorrespondent

Wednesday

Sep 5, 2018 at 4:36 PMSep 5, 2018 at 4:36 PM

Ryan Browner has actually been back home in the Georgetown High School athletic department since last year, and now he’s in the big seat.

The 24-year-old former Georgetown and University of Southern Maine standout athlete is the new athletic director at the school where he won a state championship in baseball and lost a state championship in soccer.

Browner was the assistant athletic director last year under the direction of Guy Prescott, who has since become the school’s assistant principal, thus paving the way for Ryan’s ascension to become the Royals’ sports boss.

"I learned a lot from Mr. Prescott," Browner said. "He provided me with a solid background, and now I’ll be able to try and put my own swing on things. Last year, I was working with grounds and fields, and was also the assistant athletic director, and now I’m the full-time AD. But I’ll still be busy bouncing around and making sure all the fields are ready."

Browner knows what it takes to be a successful student-athlete, clearly. He was on a soccer team that advanced all the way to the state finals, before losing to Sutton. He was on the Georgetown baseball team that won the Division 4 state title.

His success didn’t stop in college.

Playing baseball for the University of Southern Maine, that team lost in the Division 3 College World Series championship game, and also made it to the World Series final round another year.

Browner said he wants to build an athletic program that has consistency in coaching with consistent messages – a program that wins, and a program that helps lead student-athletes to great things after high school.

Although academics come first, athletics are crucial, Browner said. Being a good teammate and working toward a common goal are paramount.

But winning is cool, too. Georgetown has seen its share of losing seasons lately. Being a small school in the Cape Ann League can be challenging; just ask the football team, which opted out of the CAL for an independent schedule last fall.

"You can get a great education at Georgetown," Browner said. "Hopefully, we can turn some of the programs around and try and get back to winning and get kids more competitive in the league. I know in the past five years we haven’t performed all that well with wins and losses."

Browner said he will aim to be more visible and involved with all student-athletes. Being young enough, he can relate to today’s Gen Z athletes, he said. His door will be open to them.

He wants them to be competitive, while helping them in their development on and off the field.

As for participation numbers, Browner sees those as pretty steady across the board.

As for his coaches, he wants leaders who stay consistent in their message, and set clear expectations for their players.

Speaking of coaches, Chris DiFranco is back as the boys’ soccer mentor. He was Browner’s coach.

"He’s definitely a player’s coach," Browner said. "He likes player feedback, and is a very consistent coach in what he does."

One thing Browner has made a priority is working with the youth programs in town. He wants the high school to have a true connection with its feeder programs to help promote the high school itself. He doesn’t want to see young student-athletes opting for other schools when Georgetown can be a great choice for their scholastic years.

"We want to try and keep that homegrown talent in town," Browner said, "rather than going elsewhere like to the Prep."